Two touchdowns were invalidated by penalties — one on a chop block in the backfield, another on an illegal block in the back. The final drive was quashed by a Kyle Orton interception. Orton fumbled on a scramble at his 18-yard line to set up a 49ers touchdown.

Jarvis Moss, leaving the field Sunday after the Broncos' 24-16 loss to the 49ers in London, committed a penalty that erased Eddie Royal's punt return for a touchdown. (John Leyba, The Denver Post)

Other offensive possessions were fouled by illegal formation, delay of game, offensive pass interference and false start. There were two pathetic punts of 20 and 21 yards, a shanked, missed extra point, a defender who fell down without assistance on an option touchdown run and a lot of court-jesters-in-silly- hats nonsense.

Josh McDaniels must absorb the brunt of the blame — for bringing his Jet-lugs to London late, for failing to figure out how to get his team to score a touchdown — or even one field goal — in the first quarter for the seventh game in eight, for not having his team ready to play against the insipid 1-6 49ers, for pitiful play-calling and for biting his nails in the first and fourth quarters when it was still a nail-biter.

McDaniels talked afterward about how hard the players will work to improve during the upcoming bye week.

I asked if he would look at himself (presumably in a mirror) as a head coach and what he will do. "There's a lot of things I can look at. And I'm not going to sit here and list 100 things yet, either. I'm going to take a look at what we're doing as a staff, what I'm doing, anything I can do better. I'll certainly make the effort to do that."

I don't have room — it would take one the size of Buckingham Palace — to list all the things wrong with McDaniels and the Broncos, but No. 1 is the lack of discipline, attention to detail, toughness and intelligence shown during the game — and those qualities, or lack thereof, are a reflection of the coach. Stupid is as stupid is coached. Where's Winston Churchill when you need leadership?

There can be few excuses for a team losing at halftime on a soccer field by a soccer score — 3-nil — when the 49ers are using their third-string quarterback and obviously have ordered him not to attempt a pass of longer than 3 yards, and the Broncos can't stop the run — as usual.

When mad dogs and Englishmen who don't see the NFL in person regularly know that the 49ers are coming with a full-scale blitz (forgive me, British) every time on third down, putting Orton in harm's way, why can't they come up with a countermeasure?

What in the name of Oliver Cromwell is going on here?

McDaniels sends in a flea-flicker that produces what apparently is a 38-yard touchdown pass and a 14-3 Broncos lead late in the third quarter, but running back Knowshon Moreno, who did the flea-flickering, is penalized for an unacceptable chop block.

There are three possibilities: (A), the officials called it wrong. McDaniels wouldn't take the bait when I threw him a line. "I'm not sure I should say much here. I'm not sure it was (a penalty) in my interpretation of the rule." (B), the Broncos don't coach the block properly. (C), Moreno didn't execute the block legally.

"I think it was a critical portion of the game. To take a 14-point lead there in the second half, I think that would have been a big thing in a game that was as tight as this was for as long as it was," McDaniels said.

But there was only one possibility when Jarvis Moss fired a block into the back of a San Francisco player on a 78-yard punt return for a touchdown that was brought back late in the game. It was illegal, illogical and ill.

On the interception that ended the Broncos' hopes, either Jabar Gaffney was supposed to pull up or Orton was supposed to throw farther.

The Broncos are mistakes wrapped in blunders inside gaffes.

Linebacker Mario Haggan said, "We understand we have another game in two weeks, and we still have an opportunity to win our division."

Well, that is another way of looking at it.

However, winning one game on some continent would be nice. How about Antarctica?

Orton had another record kind of game passing the football — with 369 yards — but he did have an interception and a fumble, and the Broncos are 10-13 when he has started, and they are now 4-14 since the last bye week a year ago.

The quarterback had loved the UK before — and planned to wear an English scarf to his postgame presser. But Orton didn't make it out of the trainer's room with his damaged ribs.Tim Tebow — the designated first-and-goal rusher — warmed up and gave the entire fish-and-chips crowd hope — but Orton went back out.

"Rubbish," a man in his Sesame Street Oscar The Grouch Halloween costume shouted.

Lockheed says object part of 'sensor technology' testing that ended ThursdayWhat the heck is that thing? It's fair to assume that question was on the minds of many people who traveled along Colo. 128 south of Boulder this week if they happened to catch a glimpse of what appeared to be a large, silver projectile perched alongside the highway and pointed north toward town.

PARIS (AP) — Bye, New York! Ciao, Milan! Bonjour, Paris! The world's largest traveling circus of fashion editors, models, buyers and journalists has descended on the French capital, clutching their metro maps and city guides, to cap the ready-to-wear fashion season. Full Story